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Education Reform

Learn more about efforts to improve schools, especially through policy changes
Pile of books on a dinner plate. Satire.
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School & District Management Opinion Let Them Eat Books: A Modest Proposal to Fix American Education
We certainly can’t risk letting students read their textbooks. Who knows what questionable ideas they might find?
Jherine Wilkerson, November 18, 2024
5 min read
Image shows a multi-tailed arrow hitting the bullseye of a target.
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Policy & Politics Opinion Does Ideology Matter When It Comes to Good Educational Ideas?
Fundamental disputes over how schools model norms and set expectations, among other things, are inevitably informed by values.
Rick Hess, September 4, 2024
4 min read
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Policy & Politics Opinion Is Education a Public or Private Good?
Education would be better off if it were more democratic, argues an advocate of a new schooling model.
Rick Hess, August 20, 2024
12 min read
Red, Blue, and Purple colors over a fine line etching of the Capitol building. Republicans and Democrats, Partisan Politicians.
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Federal Opinion Federal Education Reform Has Largely Failed. Unfortunately, We Still Need It
Neither NCLB nor ESSA have lived up to their promise, but the problems calling for national action persist.
Jack Jennings, June 7, 2024
4 min read
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Policy & Politics Opinion Where Do Democrats Stand on Education?
The politics of education reform have shifted drastically since the Obama era. How has one Democratic education group responded?
Rick Hess, April 22, 2024
7 min read
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School & District Management Opinion When It Comes to Schooling, Everyone Thinks They Have the Answer
If you realize they think you're wrong, you've got a shot at understanding and persuading them.
Rick Hess, December 11, 2023
3 min read
Venn diagram over a macro shot of A- on white results sheet. Extremely shallow focus. Letter grades are highlighted.
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Assessment Opinion The 4 Common Myths About Grading Reform, Debunked
Grading reformers and their critics all have the same goal: grades that truly reflect student learning. Here’s how we move forward.
Sarah Ruth Morris & Matt Townsley, November 20, 2023
5 min read
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Policy & Politics Opinion I Spoke to Arne Duncan About School Reform. Here Are 5 Takeaways
The future of school reform may look quite different from the past of school reform.
Rick Hess, October 11, 2023
6 min read
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Teaching Profession Opinion Teacher Power Can Be the Force for Education. What Would That Look Like?
Teachers working in new and different ways with each other and their students could be the solution to learning that has evaded us.
Michael Fullan & Joanna Rizzotto, September 22, 2023
7 min read
Conceptual image of a blackboard with chalk drawings of questions marks to look like lightbulbs and a crumpled piece of paper to signify a lightbulb, idea.
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States The Steps Some States Are Taking to Redefine Student Success
"We can’t go back to the way it’s always been done," says the head of the group that represents state education chiefs.
Libby Stanford, August 3, 2023
7 min read
Photo of students taking test.
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Standards & Accountability Explainer What’s the Purpose of Standards in Education? An Explainer
What are standards? Why are they important? What's the Common Core? Do standards improve student achievement? Our explainer has the answers.
Sarah Schwartz, July 31, 2023
11 min read
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Policy & Politics Opinion The Education Community's Views on School Improvement Have Fundamentally Changed
Since the publication of a seminal report on education, reform measures are more controversial and disruptive.
Rick Hess, July 17, 2023
2 min read
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School & District Management Opinion 5 Habits of a School 'Rethinker'
As education leaders make post-pandemic reforms, they would do well to pause and reflect before enacting haphazard changes.
Rick Hess, July 10, 2023
3 min read
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School & District Management Opinion Why Do Schools Cling to 'Stupid' Ideas?
Educators and policymakers often go along with ineffectual policies, not knowing what else to do.
Rick Hess, July 5, 2023
3 min read